Seven Beautiful Strangers
by SeeMyEvil
Summary: Annette is enjoying Easter with her family but when she goes upstairs to get soft toys for her bay cousin, she returns to find the house empty, then the Cullens turn up. AU Better than it sounds!
1. Seven Beautiful Strangers

**Seven Beautiful Strangers**

"Will you make me a cup of of tea Annette?" my mother asked. We had relatives round for Easter, as strong Christians these events were a big deal. My aunt Julie and uncle Jack were here along with my baby cousin Mary; on my mother's side all the way from San Francisco. Then there was my uncle Edmund who'd flown over from London in Britain; on my father's side. We'd eaten roast chicken with all the trimmings and now everyone was crashed out on the sofas - this happened every family gathering. Only Mary and my mother were awake, Mary was born in the new millenium making her five years old.

"Okay" I sighed, just one more way to ease the boredom. I stood up from the armchair and walked into the kitchen, the kettle was already full so I just flipped the switch. Absentmindedly, I took out a spotty mug from the cupboard above the sink and filled it with a tea bag. My eyes took a sudden interest in the picture of Raffael's Angels hanging on the opposite wall, the two boys with wings looked up at something with adoration... or curiosity? I couldn't tell. They were in heaven though, no doubt. Just then the kettle popped, signalling that it had boiled. I immediately turned my attention to the task at hand: tea. I poured the boiling water into the mug and watched the bag bob while I waited for the flavour set in. Soon after I spooned the teabag out and took milk from the fridge to pour into it. 'Just a smidgen' I remembered mother had told me.

"Anny" I heard Mary call. "Aunty want's her tea!" her baby voice was so sweet but so threatening at the same time. As though she were about to burst into tears right there if I didn't hurry up. Less than eager to make her cry - or so it seemed - I stirred the tea briefly and rushed back into the front room with mother's drink.

"Sorry" I murmured looking towards the floor once I had passed her the tea.

"Don't worry, Mary was only teasing. Weren't you?" she mussed up my cousin's frizzy blonde hair playfully.

"Yes" she giggled, her dark eyes danced all over my face mischievously.

"Good" I smiled and picked up Mary. She gasped and then started squealing with delight as I spun her around the room in my arms, by which time aunt Julie had woken up, her face was coloured with worry and fear. I set Mary down on Julie's lap and made my way back to my own seat.

"You come back to us Julie?" my mother joked, her smile was contagious. I soon found myself grinning like an idiot with my aunt and Mary.

"_Yes_" she replied. "Don't you ever get tired Sam?"

"Mother has the energy of a five year old...shame I can't say the same for her looks" I laughed and Mary laughed hysterically with me. Julie was stifling her laughter and mother was glaring at me.

"Thanks Anny" she said snidely. I winked. "Why don't you go and get your soft toys for Mary?"

"Sure" I smiled while rising from my chair and heading for the stairs on the other side of the room. As I scaled the stairs, I could hear my uncle Edmund's voice joining into the conversation. My room was on the third floor and while I walked I couldn't help but think of the angels in the kitchen. What were they staring at? God? My hand came up to the silver cross around my neck, my father had given it to me one Christmas because it had been Grandmother Wren's. Or were the angel's watching the clouds make the shapes of animals like a small child, I'd always thought of angels to be wise with all their immortal years. Then my thoughts came to the fact that they were children, why not adults? Oh, children are the picture of innocence, I'd forgotten that. I chuckled. Quickly I entered my room and headed straight for my cupboard where I had put all my old toys, in case of small cousins - like Mary. I took out a lion, a lamb, a wolf, and two dolphins. I stuffed them under my arm as I locked the door to the cupboard and as I stood up I took in my poster of Ville Valo, the singer from 'HIM'. I had practically had to fight mother for the right to put his picture in my room, along with all the other bands I loved. I'd begged for purple walls and for the chandalier hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room. Quickly I made my way back down the stairs with a smile on my face and the image of my mother's face when I had told her how much I like 'My Chemical Romance' in the forefront of my mind. When my foot touched the bottom step I realised that I could hear no chatter in the room and slightly disconcerted by this fact I looked up to find that the room was empty.

"Hello?" I said to the room. My eyebrows furrowed, and I put the toys down on the glass table by the TV. I sighed, this is probably one of Mary's tricks - the junior mastermind of the King household now come to invade my own Wren home. Though it surprised me that the family would go along with her shinanigens, wait, no it didn't; they'd been drinking all day. I grimaced, this meant a game of hide-and-seek. Urgh, something I haven't played in seven years and after being put in the cupboard under the stairs to count to one hundred, the game frightened me.

"Coming ready or not!" I shouted. I'd resolved to search for them, first stop - the garage.

I trudged out to the garage and pressed the remote control button in my hand to open the doors. Slowly it revealed two empty parking spaces and my breathing hitched. This is one heck of a game of hide-and-seek, so much so that I think I'm completely alone in the house. They wouldn't leave me? Surely?! I ran inside the house again and sat down on the sofa where my aunt and uncle had rested only moments ago, I checked the clock. It was five o'clock now, and we had finished eating lunch at three. I had been speaking to mother for an hour probably while Mary would join in every few minutes while my father, aunt and two uncles slept off their lunch. I made tea for mother, Mary called me in and aunt Julie woke up while mother drank her tea. I went upstairs for toys for Mary and I heard uncle Edmund wake up too, I would have only taken ten minutes. But then, maybe my sense of timing is way off. I brought my knees up to my chest and curled my arms around them. I was scared, confused and upset because my family had disappeared in the space of ten minutes without even letting me _know _where they were going and...urgh! Slowly, one tear trickled down the side of my face and I shut my eyes to stop the rest of them escaping.

...

There was a loud clanging at the door as someone tried to get in. I must have dozed off because it was dark outside and I felt oddly energetic. I bolted out of my seat and opened the door to find seven beautiful strangers looking confusedly at my face. My hand gripped the door as if it were the only thing keeping me alive.

"Uh...hello?" I finally stuttered out. A man with blonde hair who stood with a key in his hands answered me first.

"We are the Cullen family, we live here" his voice flowed in the air around me and his topaz coloured eyes scrutinized me though he wore a kind face.

"I think you're mistaken, I'm Annette Wren and I've lived here for all sixteen years of my life" my tone was surprisingly firm and at first it sounded quite rude to speak to him like that but then I remembered - he's trying to break into my house! "Why else would your key not work?" I gestured towards the metal keys hanging from his index finger.

"What's happening Carlisle?" the brawny man further towards the back of the family asked. His brown curls bobbed as he watched my suddenly trembling hands.

"She's telling the truth" the bronze haired boy beside 'Carlisle' said. All their eyes watched my trembling form in the doorway then looked again confusedly towards their leader.

"You could come in while we get a few things straight, if you'd like? Just so long as you don't kick me out" I laughed nervously as I gestured for them to come in. The seven beautiful people nodded once then stepped into the house, they turned around the corner like they'd been here before. I saw that the group consisted of three women and four men. I followed around the corner to the living room.

"Would you like anything to drink?" I questioned.

"No, thank you" they chorused. My lips pressed together.

"Okay" I sat in the one free armchair and watched their seemingly relaxed body language. I was strung tight with fear, both rational and irrational. Here were seven people who could easlily kill me here and take the house without so much as a squeak from me to be heard ten miles away in the nearest town. Not to mention the fact that it was dark outside. This was so stupid! There was also a sense of safety with them though, my problem was - which is correct? Should I fear them? Oh, how confusing is this?! I clutched at my Grandmother's cross and caught an amused smile in the corner of my eye.

"Could someone explain to me why you think you live here?" I begged.

The blonde woman who sat beside the bronze haired boy answered me, "Because we do?" I rolled my eyes, good job blondie. I saw the boy smile widely in one second and then it was gone in the next.

"Excuse my sister, let me put it more politely. Because to us it appears that you've been squatting in the house after we left for our fortnight's holiday" his velvet smooth voice cut into my steady composure and I had to take a minute to gather my thoughts. What just happened?

"Okay, but if you've been living here for a while then why is my room decorated with deep purple paint, posters of Ville Valo and black lace? Not to mention the wooden cross hanging outside my father's office..." my voice trailed off and my hand clapped over my mouth. "Oh!" I remembered the empty garage. My family was still gone! A new tear escaped my eye, and the petite brunette girl sitting beside 'Carlisle' was suddenly raising from her seat and coming towards me. I waved her away, "It's fine". I shut my eyes again, to prevent any more escaping then opened them again. Sat on my lap was my cousin Mary holding the toy lamb that I had brought down for her with sheer delight covering her face. My aunt Julie watched her carefully though she was still talking to my mother, uncle Jack was still asleep but his head lay in aunt Julie's lap. Uncle Edmund suddenly looked a lot like someone else, like the brawny, brown haired man from my...daydream? My father was sleeping on the sofa beside uncle Edmund. Oh. How peculiar? Who were the seven beautiful strangers who called themselves the Cullens? A tear escaped my eye with the loss of a puzzle I was desperate to solve, I shut my eyes to stop any more tears escaping then opened my lids once more, the seven beautiful strangers were here again. I stood up, "This is just...weird".

**A/N: Ooh, this is the single longest piece I've ever written! Go me! It was just bursting out of me. :P But, I digress...I bet you EmeraldLace readers are thinking: "Oh hell, not another one!". And hey, here's another one. Sorry! I got the idea and my hands have been itching to type it up. Sooo. Update news on other stories: Everything is stuck. My mind has lost all motivation to carry on with them. But the good news is, I will always come back to a fan fiction. You're just gonna have to keep your fingers crossed; I will too.**

**I hope you enjoyed this story though? Please review! Do you think I should leave it here or carry on? Will be posted as complete for now...**

**Inspirational song: Underground by David Bowie and Trevor Jones**

**P.S: I'm not a Christian myself, I just thought it would be ironic. Sorry if I got something wrong or if I offended anyone. ;)**


	2. A Little Gratitude Please

**A Little Gratitude Please...**

The seven pale strangers turned to the bronze-haired boy immediately, however he stared back at them confusedly, as if to say "Why are you looking at me?". I cleared my throat, since they stayed like that for at least a few minutes. I thought over the past events: They came into the house, I shut my eyes and my family came back, then I shut my eyes again and the Cullens came back. I chuckled at the idea of some kind of supernatural power; like angels - immortality and innocence then clutched at the cross around my neck. What did all that have to do with the blink of an eye and tears? What did these strangers have to do with it? What did _I _have to do with it? Urgh! So confusing and annoying and... crazy. Maybe I finally cracked? I knew I shouldn't have sniffed that glue in nursery, mother had told me what the solvents would do to my brain. A hysterical laughter shuttered through my internal monologue, and I soon realised that the beautiful sound came from the bronze-haired boy. I stared into his amused topaz coloured eyes with a greater confusion than his own.

"Sorry" he told me after he'd calmed down, _quite _enough. This was no time for fun and games! I was going insane! These people have just appeared out of nowhere, they're obviously something of my imagination. But then how did that explain where my family had gone? I huffed in frustration then sat back down in the armchair. I curled into a ball and rocked myself back and forth, chanting to myself that it was just my crazy imagination, praying that this whole thing could be forgotten.

"Apparently we don't exist" I heard someone say, almost too quietly for me to hear.

"What conclusion would you come to in her situation?" a feminine and sweet voice countered.

"Fair point" the same voice replied.

"Hey, Edward?" a different girl asked now. "Why did you burst out laughing just now?" the room was in silence beside the sound of my own breathing and the ringing in the air of the new voice I hadn't heard before.

"Her thoughts were highly amusing" 'Edward' answered with a smile in his voice.

The room was filled with the low murmur of several voices trying to get their points across, but the words were coming too fast for me to make them out. I think I must have dozed off again, because when I came to once more it was light outside and the Cullens waited for me though their lips moved too swiftly for me to figure out what they were saying.

"I'm Carlisle, you remember?" the blonde man who'd held the keys in his hands told me. I nodded in response. "This is my family, Edward,-" he gestured towards the bronze haired boy, "-Alice and Jasper." In turn the small girl with pixie-like features waved and and said 'hello' the dirty blonde haired man beside her nodded his head in acknowledgement. Carlisle continued, "Emmett and Rosalie-" he gestured towards the brawny man with dark curls who I'd been intidated by at the door, though he seemed friendly enough now with a big grin on his face, then beside Edward, was Rosalie who stared at me with resentment just about _written _on her overly beautiful face and lush blonde hair cascading half-way down her back. "-And here is my wife, Esme" he brought his arm around the woman with caramel coloured hair and a kind face, I could see the adoration she had for the rest of her family, Carlisle especially as she watched him cross the floor to me.

"I'm Annette" I smiled at the family despite the nagging feeling of fear in the back of my mind. There was only silence in the room then, so I took to watching the clock. It was currently seven o'clock in the morning, wow I'd been asleep for a long time.

"You sleep well?" Carlisle asked while his golden eyes seemed to analyse every little detail on my face.

"Err, yes" I replied slowly.

"Even with your sleep talking?" Edward inquired, cocking one eyebrow. I'm sure my cheeks turned scarlet because the room suddenly felt a lot hotter.

"Oh no!" I brought my hands up to my face. "What did I say?"

"Only about angels..." Alice trailed off suggestively. If it was possible, my cheeks turned a brighter red.

"Jasper" Edward reproached Jasper for whatever reason.

I heard him whisper an apology in reply . What was all that about?

"Can I ask something?" I called out from behind my two handed shield.

"Sure" I saw Esme answer reassuringly.

"What is happening here? My family have disappeared, you're claiming to live here. But I live here..." I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to see things clearer and to be able to tell what's going on. I'm probably going mad. But is there any sense in trying to make sense of it? I feel sorry for the poor family having to deal with me right now, a crazy person who talks in her sleep; speaking of which. When were they going to sleep? "Hold on, let's not worry about that for now. You probably need some sleep?"

"We're fine" Rosalie hissed.

"But surely-"

"Nope"

Urgh, she's so snappy. So rude! Who does she think she is? Waltzing into my house, telling me she lives here then I offer her a bed and she bites my head off! _So_ rude, a prize cow.

"Hey, I'm offering you a bed to sleep in. You could at least show a bit of gratitude" I told her quickly. "You need your beauty sleep don't you? Or are you a 'natural beauty'?" I smiled sweetly once I'd finished and I could see the rest of the family not so successfully trying to hold in their laughter. The same could not be said for Rosalie though, she looked like she wanted to snap my neck and bury me in the woods. I grinned widely at her while she sank back into the sofa with crossed arms. Ha! Nothing to say to that. Once the excitement had died down I asked the family if they needed a bed again but they didn't in fact need one; as Rosalie had said. This time they declined with _grace_ at least. I rose from my seat to find myself ravenous then remembered my guests.

"If you don't want a bed, surely you'd like something to eat?"

"No, thank you" Alice answered on behalf of her family. I sighed then headed into the kitchen, it looked much the same as yesterday as I headed for the fridge to get some ham only to find that it was empty. I can see they helped themselves already, no wonder they're not hungry, they ate a week's shop! Damn... crackers it is then. I headed to the cupboard beside the fridge, only to find that empty as well. I searched the rest of the cupboards in the kitchen, including the one underneath the sink; without finding so much as a crumb. My stomach grumbled, which was accompanied by a dry throat. I took a glass out of the cupboard above the sink and poured myself a glass of water. The Cullens must have had something to drink... yet there wasn't a single glass in dishwasher when I looked or by the sink. Right, so they've eaten one hundred salty _Jacobs_ crackers between them and not drunk a single drop of water, ham is salty too and cheese. So this is actually quite creepy. I sauntered back into the living room where the family sat in their same places chatting quietly amongst themselves.

"Would anyone like a glass of water?" I asked. Carlisle was about to answer when Edward told me he'd like one, so the rest of the family followed suit.

**A/N: How do you like it? Eh? Eh? REVIEW!**


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